Spring 2010

India in Film: Hollywood, Bollywood, Mollywood

Faculty

Description

[SA] A study of selected films from India, Europe, and the United States ranging from popular cinema (Dil Se, Om Shanti Om, Kal Ho Na Ho, Gunga Din, Gandhi, Passage to India) to art cinema (Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy, Charulata, Salaam Bombay, Water). In which ways are the themes, characters, plot, structures and techniques of the films culturally specific? Using Edward Said’s book Orientalism as a starting point, this course will explore how Western films deal with the exotic and, conversely, how Indian films present the idea of Self and reaffirm (or contradict) the ideals and values of Indian society.